Tribute to the sea - cultural projects up for Future Cities Forum awards this summer 2026

Image:courtesy of Braaksma & Roos

Future Cities Forum's entries to its cultural category - Summer Awards 2026 - are all inspired by the sea. They include Amsterdam's 'The Drift Museum', Hull Maritime Museum and the Larrakia Cultural Centre, Darwin, Australia

The Drift Museum, Amsterdam, set to open in 2026 in Amsterdam’s historic Van Gendt Hallen industrial complex, renovated by architecture firm Braaksma & Roos, is dedicated to the Dutch artist duo Studio Drift, renowned worldwide for their large-scale, technology-infused, kinetic installations.

The museum is designed as an immersive, experiential environment rather than a traditional gallery, intended to inspire awe and foster a stronger bond with the planet and nature.

Accessible by electric boat through an indoor harbour, the exhibition hall will feature the captivating works of Studio Drift (Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta), which cleverly explore the connections between nature, technology, and humanity.

Image: courtesy of Hull Museums

Hull Maritime Museums says restoring five of Hull’s key maritime heritage assets to place its 800 years of seafaring history is at the heart of the city’s visitor offer.

With the creation of a new visitor experience to show Hull in a new and different light, the five sites will highlight the maritime heritage within the city’s striking landscape and also inspire people to cherish the heritage and experiences which have shaped the city and its people, for centuries.

Not only will Hull Maritime transform the most important maritime sites, increasing access to and understanding of them, it will also have positive impacts for the city beyond the project itself, contributing to education, skills development, jobs creation, apprenticeships, internships and extensive volunteering opportunities.

Overall, Hull Maritime will grow the sense of ownership and civic pride in Hull's heritage and make the city a more interesting, attractive and invigorating place for residents and visitors alike.

Credit: Rossi Architects/Susan Dugdale & Associates

Larrakia Cultural Centre, Darwin

The BBC describes The Larrakia Cultural Centre as a striking new museum opening in September in Darwin, the capital of the Australia's Northern Territory. The harbourfront building has a roof shaped like a bird in flight, evoking an ancestral spirit. Built on the sacred land of the Indigenous Larrakia people, it's the latest example of a shift from museums about native people to museums owned and operated by them.

The Larrakia, who have lived in the region for tens of thousands of years, have been working on the project for decades. "The centre will be a place of truth-telling, learning and celebration," Malarndirri McCarthy, the country's Minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a statement. It's hoped that visitors will come to the museum before heading out to explore other Indigenous sites in the region with cultural ties to the Larrakia, such as Kakadu National Park and the Tiwi Islands.

The A$60m (£31.2m) centre will display traditional and ceremonial artefacts, some of which were repatriated only recently. Last year, the Fowler Museum at the University of California-Los Angeles returned a kangaroo-tooth headband and glass spear points that were acquired in the late 19th and early 20th Century. A few months later, Larrakia elders travelled to England to reclaim 33 spears, spear throwers and a club from the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

In addition to galleries and art studios, the centre will have an outdoor auditorium with sand performance and saltwater ceremonial areas and spaces to teach the Larrakia culture. It will also have a restaurant featuring indigenous flavours, and a shop selling Larrakia arts and crafts.